Kaspersky has always been a reputable antivirus brand. All of the products that it offers its users provide them with great protection against the many threats that they can easily encounter online. But we know how users can often be hesitant when it comes to choosing a particular antivirus product. Today we are reviewing Kaspersky Total Security 2018 with all of its features, upsides and downsides. So stick with us.

Total Security Cost

Kaspersky Total Security’s pricing starts at $49.99 annually that gives you coverage for 5 devices.

This package includes a password manager, file encryption, file shredding, parental controls, automated backups as well as 2GB worth of online storage from Dropbox. This package also comes with a 30-day money back guarantee. If after using it, you realize you want to choose a different package, Kaspersky’s customer support will be more than happy to indulge you.

Ease of Installation

Here are the steps Kaspersky takes to download Kaspersky Total Security on your device, according to our review.

The only way to download Kaspersky Total Security 2018 is through its official website. You will have to download a file that is namely 0.0.405aben_12562.exe that is 2.30MBs in size. The upside to this that we noticed was that you don’t have to give your personal information to start this download.

The second step is to run the setup file. This means that you will be downloading an additional 168.1MB worth of data onto your device from the official servers of Kaspersky. This is a considerably smaller file, compared to what the counterparts of Kaspersky offer in the market.

Once the software starts to install, you get a few choices. You can decide whether or not you want to participate in the Kaspersky Security Network (KSN) in order to obtain optimal protection. We heavily recommend that you enable this option so that Kaspersky Total Security 2018 can respond to dangerous threats on your device much faster.

Upon completion of the installation process, Kaspersky Total Security will inform you and immediately become functional once you accept. Like Bitdefender, you will not have to reboot your device after installing this antivirus product by Kaspersky. The downside, however, was that we had to wait approximately 15 minutes as the software lagged to update itself. But once we manually rebooted the software, it began to work. We believe this is something Kaspersky needs to work on to improve this product.

Before functioning, Kaspersky will prompt you to download an update that will be a 2.66MB worth of file. It won’t take you very long and should be functional right away.

Malware Protection

The first and the foremost thing that we checked in Kaspersky Total Security was how well it handles malicious threats. So we ran a few independent tests of our own. Keep in mind that this antivirus provides you browsing security on browsers listed below.

Browser Test

Like the tests we ran for Bitdefender Total Security, we ran Kaspersky Total Security through a browser test. In this, we opened a bunch of malicious websites on browsers like Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, Opera and Mozilla Firefox. While doing this, we did not enable the add-on that was provided by the security suite for the browsers. Kaspersky passed this test with flying colors as it blocked our attempts to open malicious websites every time.

USB Test

The second test we ran was fairly simple as well. We plugged in an infected USB drive into the laptop we had Kaspersky Total Security downloaded on. Within a few seconds of plugging in the USB, the software detected the malicious threats and immediately prompted to remove them.

Infected Windows Test

Lastly, we installed Windows 10 on a laptop along with several malicious viruses. We then downloaded and installed Kaspersky Total Security on this device. Once the setup was complete and the antivirus was running, it immediately prompted to disinfect the system and rid it of all of the harmful malwares.

We ran a few independent security tests and the results are as follows.

Firewall Protection

Kaspersky Total Security provides users with good firewall protection that is carefully integrated with Windows 10. This particular kind of firewall can identify what kind of network you are connected to, whether it is private or public. It then proceeds to configure its settings accordingly on Windows depending on what you choose. This is an automatic process and will save you a lot of time since you won’t have to do it manually.

We ran a few tests to identify Kaspersky Total Security’s ability to protect the firewall of the device we were using for the sake of this review. We used to network vulnerability scanners called Nmap and Nessus. When we were connected to a private network profile, Nmap analyzed 9 open ports whereas Nessus found 7. While we were connected to a public network profile however. Nmap found 5 open ports whereas Nessus found 3.

Security Features

Kaspersky Total Security comes with a lot of security features that make the use of a device that much more convenient for all of its users. Here, we reviewed each feature along with their upsides and downsides, given that there were any.

Safe Money

When you are making online transactions, you need to know that your credentials are safe. Safe Money feature offered by Kaspersky Total Security ensures that a protected browser is open while you make these sensitive transactions on your computer. You can even use this feature for online shopping and banking.

Password Manager

This feature stores all of your passwords and login information in a safe place so that you may access them whenever you need to, from within your web browsers. This feature is compatible with Windows, OS X, Android as well as iOS. All you need to do is create an account with My Kaspersky Portal in order to access this feature. The downside however is that you have to manually download this feature onto your device from the main interface.

Privacy Protection

For all those times you want to use a private browser, this feature has you covered. Along with a Private Browser, you also get webcam access feature that will alert you if someone is trying to access your webcam in your computer.

Parental Control

This feature can be used to set a limit to how much time your child spends using the computer online. You can only enable a few apps and games your child is allowed to use and lock the rests. You can even block instant messaging on the device.

Protection for All Devices

You can connect all the devices protected by Kaspersky Total Security to your My Kaspersky Portal and monitor all of them remotely with this feature.

Software Updater and Cleaner

Software Updater automatically updates and fixes any bugs on your device whereas the Software Cleaner cleans the apps that you may not use at all on your device or the apps that you may have downloaded by mistake.

Data Encryption

This feature lets you encrypt all of your files using the AES-256 encryption.

Trusted Applications Mode

When this mode is enabled, you will be disabling the access of any app that isn’t in the Kaspersky Security Network database.

Cloud Protection

With loud protection, you can either connect or disconnect your computer to Kaspersky’s Security Network in order to protect yourself from malicious malware.

On-Screen Keyboard

This feature provides added security against keylogging hacks.

Vulnerability Scan

Kaspersky’s vulnerability scan finds any and all files on your computer that may pose some kind of security threat to your data.

Kaspersky Rescue Disk

This is a free downloadable tool that you can install on your device from Kaspersky’s official website. This is for computers that are so heavily infected with malwares that they cannot boot up the Windows.

Kaspersky Total Security – Final Thoughts

Kaspersky Total Security impressed us in all the malware protection tests we ran. For the money that you pay for this package, you get an adequate amount of features. With added browser security, your online transactions as well as your credentials are safe and secure. If you are looking for a software that comes with the utmost security including parental controls, then it is your best bet to choose Kaspersky Total Security for not only yourself but for also your entire family. Staying secure online was never this easy!